Is a Subway Portland’s Next Big Thing?

We have the MAX and lots of transit options but now city planners are considering a subway system. At a recent meeting of the Portland planning and sustainability committee, they talked about a conceptual proposal for a subway tunnel linking downtown across the river. But don’t get too excited, this plan is far from reality and it could take anywhere from 30 to 40 years before it becomes a reality. Other projects aimed at increasing efficiency of downtown infrastructure are likely to be implemented before that.

For the current time, city planners are considering including extending MAX lines to other cities like Vancouver and Oregon city as well as remodeling Portland’s famous steel bridge. All of this is due to the fact that the city’s population continues its upward trajectory and more riders are looking for public transportation downtown. There are a lot of brainstorming ideas going on with city planners and they’re not only planning for today but for the next 50 years as well. So as of subway in our future? Possibly, but don’t hold your breath.